INTERNET ADDICTION/COMMITTED TO HEALING

You are off to a great start Lyon03 !

The brain chemistry should slowly start returning to normal in the coming weeks . Exercise is a fantastic addition to your routine too .

You have motivated me to log off this weekend ( except for periodic Modding ) and pick up a book . I need to rediscover my love of reading .

Day 5: Thanks for your kind shout out. I hope your weekend 'screen-free' was successful. I'm checking in with today's goals:

- 3.5 hours of work

- Stay off my internet addiction websites (Facebook, YouTube, news feeds etc)

- Exercise (arms today)

- No TV until Thursday

- Check in at the end of the day

I had some friends visiting and a dinner party Saturday night. It was wonderful to be offline for most the weekend. Real contact with real people and fresh air are wonderful.

Day 0: Yesterday was a bit of a write off work-wise. I spend most of the day playing video games, surfing news sites, and even a little YouTube. But I'm making progress because I'm not losing myself in videos like I did in the past. But still, these are early days my friends. In short, I did sweet f*ck all like on a porn binge day. "Progress not perfection" as they say in 12-step programs. So I've re-set my counter to day 1 and will start over. My goals today are:

- 3.5 hours of work (have already done an hour)

- Stay off my porn-sub websites (Facebook, YouTube, news feeds etc)

- Exercise (arms today) just heading to the gym now

- Check in at the end of the day

Wish me luck my friends.

Just checking back in at the end of the day. I worked 3.5 hours, although it was a struggle, and dabbled in both Facebook and YouTube for work as I was doing my company's social media. But a good day I think. Will be back tomorrow with another update.

Day 1: Good day friends! Here are my goals for today:

- 3.5 hours of times work

- Stay off my porn-sub websites (Facebook, YouTube, news feeds etc)

- Exercise (back today) heading to the gym later this morning

- Check in at the end of the day

Wish me luck friends.

Wishing you luck even though you don't seem to be needing it very much - you're doing great !

Have you noticed any lessening in your urges to go to back to the websites ? Are you seeing the benefits of your abstinence efforts ?

Day 5: Just checking in after a nice long weekend away. In response to your question:

"Have you noticed any lessening in your urges to go to back to the websites? Are you seeing the benefits of your abstinence efforts?"

Yes and thanks for asking. I've gone more of less cold turkey with Facebook, although I did watch some YouTube videos this morning of the presidential debate. I guess I'm tapering off my internet addiction whereas with my porn addiction, I stopped watching porn completely almost two years ago.

I started this process about ten day ago and haven't binged on the internet since so I'm making progress. I've been completely off Facebook for 5 days and the world hasn't ended. My mind feels a bit foggy, likely because for a few days I haven't given it the dopamine hits. While lethargic, I feel I'm on the right track. 

I'll check in again perhaps this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Thanks for the support.

Hi
I am a 36 year male from the UK

I am taking real inspiration from your posts on here - it is encouraging to read your progress. My addiction to the internet (and more pointedly porn site/apps) have pushed me and partner to the brink.

I have been so scared to tackle this, and have been caught in a vicious cycle of giving in to the addiction, then feeling worthless for giving in and then retreating back to the porn sites because I feel worthless.

My partner wants to help but I need to make the concerted effort - not pay lip service to him.

I have been up all night researching and making notes on as much as possible in the hope it would give me hope that I can overcome this.

I am scared, actually close to tears as I type this - I know my behaviour is causing harm to me and the man I love. Reading your posts and progress really gives me hope

Welcome steveJT ,

Compulsions are maddening . To me , it felt like my addiction was throwing a toddler-tantrum in my brain and it would.not.shut.up until I gave in and did what it wanted .

What helped me were distractions , roadblocks and a battle plan . Do you have counseling / therapy available to you ? Is your partner open to supporting your efforts to fight off the urges ? Would he be willing to join you in counseling ?

It is often hard for our loved ones to understand addiction fully , if they have never experienced it themselves . Couples counseling can help them see that this is not something you are doing to them , it is something that is happening to you .

You can post here anytime for support when you need it . It's not a super-active forum , but I will be happy to listen whenever you want to talk . You can even start your own thread , if you'd like . I find that writing things out is healing for me .